Conveyer.



No. 799,993. PATENTED SEPT. 19, 1905.

0. W. LEVALLEY.

OONVEYER.

APPLICATION rnwms. 22. 1904.

. 2 sums-sum 1.

[NVEN OR WITNESS I Attqmey WITNESSES: R 7/ o o D v PATENTED SEPT. 19,1905. 0. w. LEVALLEY.

OONVEYER.

APPLICATION rum) we. 22, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

Attorney the endless chain.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY, OF MILWAUKEE. WISCONSIN.

CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1905.

Application filed August 22, 1904. Serial No, 221,72'7.

, new and useful Conveyer, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to endless conveyers, and is particularly adaptedfor elevating and conveying packages from one floor of a structure toanother, although the invention is also applicable to conveyers the legsor runs of which travel in a more or less nearly horizontal direction.

It comprises, broadly stated, an endless chain. or its equivalent, thesprocket-wheels or their equivalents, by which theendless chain issupported and driven, and a series of carriers or supports for thematerial to be conveyed connected with and carried by These parts arecombined in a novel manner, as will be described and as is illustratedin the accompanying drawings, where the preferred form of my inventionis shown.

Referring to such drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of anelevating-conveyer embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a front view ofthe upper part of the conveyer drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a side view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, a different form of aloading and unloading platform from that shown in Fig. 1 being alsorepresented. Fig. 4 is a detailview illus trating the means for holdingone of the swinging platforms that is arranged adjacent to a hatchway inan open position.

In the elevating-conveyer represented in the drawings I employ but asingle endless chain 1, which is formed of a series of links that may beof any usual or preferred construction. The chain passes over and issupported by the sprocket-wheels 8, arranged, respectively, at the headand foot of the conveyer and mounted upon suitable shafts 9, one ofwhich is connected with the driving mechanism. Such mechanism is notshown in the drawings, as it forms no part of the present invention. It.may be arranged to drive the conveyer in one direction only or to driveit in either direction, as maybe desired, as a conveyer embodying myinvention such as I have shown is adapted to travel in either direction.To this endless chain is secured a series of carriers or supports forthe material to be transported. I have represented these carriers asbeing of skeleton shape and adapted to transport boxes or packages; buttheir shape and construction may be modified to suit the character ofthe material being handled. Thus, for instance, if barrels orcylindrical packages were being handled the outer edge of each carrierwould be turned upward, as indicated at 20, in order to hold the barrelsor packages from rolling off. At suitable intervals along the chainthere are inserted special links provided with. laterallyprojectingstuds or journals 2, upon which are supported the carriers. Asrepresented in the drawings, each carrier is formed of a series of barsshaped to form a substantially horizontal support 6 for the packages andthe series of converging suspension-bars 5, connected at their upperends with the bearing 3, that encircles the stud or journal 2 of thespecial link. The carrier is strengthened by a cross-plate 12, that isattached to and serves to unite the bars 5. A cross shaft or rod 14 isarranged near the lower rear edge of the carrier, and upon it aremounted the rollers or wheels 13, to be hereinafter more particularlyreferred to.

'I have represented the conveyer as ar ranged in a structure havingthree floors A B C, through openings or hatchways in which the carriersmove as they pass up and down. These openings are adapted to be closedby swinging platforms 15, each formed of a series of bars spaced apartso as to allow the bars of the carriers to pass freely between them andyet to pick up such articles as may be placed thereupon. The latformsare preferably hinged, as indicate at 18, so they may be swung back toentirely uncover the hatchways. A platform may be held in an. uprightposition by means of a bolt and socket 16 and 17, in which position itwill serve as a gate to guard the opening, as indicated at the floor A,or it may be thrown entirely back, as indicated at the floor C.

The conveyer is preferably arranged adjacent to a wall 10 of thestructure, and I perfer that the wheels 8 should be arranged inside suchwall, so as to be protected and concealed thereby, and that the chainshould travel in a groove or way 11 in the wall, the outer edge of thechain being substantially flushwith theface of the wall. This wayconsists of two parts, one for each leg or run of the conveyer. Thus theup-moving run is situated in one recess or groove and the down-movingleg or run in another groove.

These may be, as represented in Fig. 1, con

nected to form a single way. When thus arranged, the conveyor isprotected and out of the way, and danger of any article being caughtthereby is largely reduced. It will be seen that the carriers for thematerial to be transported are freely sninging and mounted upon axesthat are parallel with the joints of the chain and transverse to theplane in which the chain moves, The wall or parti tion serves as abearing against which the carrier rests when loaded, and the wheels orrollers 13 by resting against such wall largely reduce the friction ofthe carriers therewith.

If a loaded carrier should encounter any oneof the platforms 15 nodamage would result, as such platform would be lifted and the carrierand its load allowed to pass on, after which the platform wouldimmediately fall back to place. If any carrier should fail to beunloaded at the proper place, no damage would result, as it would merelypass the head-wheel and travel down the descending leg of the conveyor.If the hatchways through the several floors were open, the load wouldremain upon the carrier until removed; but if any one of the platforms15 on the descending side of the elevator should be down, covering suchhatchway, the load would be automatically deposited thereupon. I thusprovide for automatically unloading the conveyer While in Fig. 1 I haverepresented each platform as being level with the floor, it is evidentthat it might be arran ed at ahigher level, as shown in Fig. 3, and thisarrangemen is sometimes of advantage in loading and unloading, as itallows the platform to be inclined, so that an article depositedthereupon will roll or slide off and be out of the way of the nextarticle to be delivered.

By the use of my invention I am enabled to make a thoroughly-practicalconveyer in which but a single line of chain or its equivalent isemployed, and by arranging the carriers entirely to one side of thechain the latter may be mounted within the wallspac.e of the structure,leaving only the carriers exposed.

Having described my invention, What I claim is- 1. The combination of aflat wall in which are formed vertically disposed ways or pivotallyconnected therewith, each loadcar rier being formed of a series of barsshaped to form horizontally-disposed supports, 6, and a series ofsuspension-members, 5, that converge toward the pivotal connection ofthe carrier with the chain, substantially as set forth.

3. In a conveyer, the combination of an endless chain, and a series ofswinging loadcarriers connected therewith by pivots or joints, theload-carriers being formed of bars shaped to constitute a series ofload-supporting fingers or bars, 6, and a series of convergingsuspension members, 5, a strengthening cross-piece uniting the saidbars, and the rollers, 13, supported near the outer edges of thecarriers and substantially in the planes oc cupied by the suspensionmembers of the carriers, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of an endless conveyer, upper and lower supportingwheels for such conveyer, a series of swinging carriers for the materialto be transported secured to the endless conveyer, and arranged tofreely pass when loaded the supporting-wheels of the endless conveyer,and a series of loading and unloading platforms arranged adjacent to theoppositely-moving legs of the conveyer, all of such platforms beingdisposed at one side of the path of movement of the conveyor, andarranged to permit the free passage of unloaded carriers and beinghinged to per Init the passage of a loaded carrier on the upmoving legof the conveyer, but to remove the load from a carrier on thedown-moving leg of the conveyer, substantially as set forth.

CHRISTOPHER W. LEYALLEY.

Witnesses:

W. C. SARGENT, V. I. KLOFANDA.

